BY JOHN TORIS

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the twin bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The attack occured on August 7, 1998, where Al Qaeda terrorists under the authority of Osama Bin Laden drove an explosives-laden van into the US embassy and detonated a bomb. The bombing led to a massive destruction, killing 224 people and injuring over 4000.

As a result, the consortium of survivors and families of victims was formed on January 2023 to organize and coordinate the efforts of compensation for the victims of the bomb blast. The consortium is a representative organ and is made up of persons who were affected by the bomb blast. It conducts this function by coordinating with various stake holders to advance the objective of pursuit of justice and having the goal of securing compensation for the victims.

Speaking this afternoon during the 25th Anniversary of the 1998 bombing, International Coordinator from the United States Caroline Muthoka said that the victims have never been compensated for 25 year now, and has urged President Ruto’s government to help pressure the US government to compensate the Kenyan victims.

Caroline added that the US government only compensated it’s citizens, leaving Kenyans without any assistance. “We know that the United States loves to fight and defend human rights by all means. The Kenyan victims are also people who deserve their rights. We therefore call on the Biden administration to listen to us and compensate all the survivors from Kenya.” Caroline said.

She further stated the specific needs that all victims require as compensation including medical covers for the injured, PTSD follow up, Education for their children, job opportunities for the young ones, rehabilitation for the mentally and physically affected, special training for the blind, wheelchairs and walking sticks, VISAs to travel around the world and relate with other victims of terror. Caroline as well insisted that Kenyan lives also matter, just like the American lives.

“These families deserve compensation for suffering in a dispute they had nothing to do with. The bias in compensating victims makes it look like Kenyan lives, unlike those of Americans, do not matter. That is unacceptable.”

“The local victims deserve justice for paying the price of something they knew nothing about. The US must demonstrate it cares for human rights as it professes to do by ensuring all victims get an equal share of the Sudanese compensation.”

The US government later exacted revenge when it hunted and killed Osama in 2011. However, that wasn’t enough consolation for people whose lives were shattered; people who lost the ability to fend for themselves and now depend on others for a living and their medical bills. It is disheartening that 25 years later, most Kenyan victims are still pleading for compensation to ease their suffering.
In 2021, Sudan committed to pay $335 million to compensate families affected by the bombings, but that compensation left out locals, yet they bore the brunt of the attack. The US Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act that initially only offered compensation to American citizens of terror attacks was amended in 2019 to take on board other groups of people. But while that should have paved the way for victims of the US embassy bombing in 1998 to be compensated, it has not.

On 7 August 1998, Al Qaeda detonated two suicide truck bombing attacks on the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people and wounding over 4,000. Almost all of the victims were local citizens.

The attacks were orchestrated by Osama bin Laden and executed by al-Qaida operatives, mostly harbored in Sudan.